Classic Manzanero covers miss the mark.

Duetos

Armando Manzanero with various artists

Wea

At 65, Mexico's world-famous bolero composer Armando Manzanero has reached that level of stardom at which artists can simply do what they please and still always expect massive approval. That's the case with Manzanero's latest release Duetos. In it, the gifted composer has recorded some of his many classics with an array of stars from the Spanish-speaking music world, notably Miguel Bose, Sole Gimenez from the band Presuntos Implicados, the recently discovered Spanish success Cafe Quijano, Latin queen Olga Tanon and Mexico's sweetheart, Lucero. However, the absence of superstar Luis Miguel, who took some of Manzanero's compositions to the category of world hits, makes the album incomplete.

The only new composition by the Yucateco king of romance comes in a duo with his son Juan Pablo, who has been trying to follow his father's footsteps for a few years now without much success. Apart from that new, rather lack-luster composition, entitled "Antes de, Despues de' all other songs are well-known Manzanero hits presented in not-so-very innovative ways, except for some slight changes in the arrangements. The only real innovation comes in "Esperare," the duo with Care Quijano's vocalist Manuel Quijano. The sensational Quijano brothers were able to add their unique, sparky, tropical blend to Manzanero's romance in a style more similar to the Quijano's new sound than to Manzanero's original.

The album, a production by Manzanero himself with Nacho Mano, chained most guest singers to Manzanero's originals, making, for example, Miguel Bose's brilliant voice sound not so special in "Mia," one of the maestro's most popular heart-breaking boleros. But Presuntos Implicados' talented vocalist Sole Gimenez stands out in "Esta TardeVi Llover," perhaps because her own style fits Manzanero's own soft singing pace And Olga Tanon's voice was also able to surface in one of Manzanero's top classics "Somos Novios' thanks to an added bossa nova rhythm. Lucero's powerful singing style was flattened in the short track "No Existen Limites' resulting in one of the album's most forgettable numbers. Edith Marquez made a solid impression in the painful and classic song of rejection, "No." But Francisco Cespedes, a gifted contemporary bolero singer, remained way behind Luis Miguel in the moving "No Se Tu."

Although the album can be a passable introduction to Manzanero's romantic boleros for beginners, true fans won't find much in it, apart from Bose's personal touch, the Quijano Brothers' twist, Sole Gimenez and the well-crafted bossa nova by Tanon.